Nine years ago today, a quiet evening in Dhaka’s upscale Gulshan neighbourhood turned into a night of sheer horror. On the evening of 1 July 2016, militants launched a deadly attack on Holey Artisan Bakery, a popular restaurant located in the diplomatic zone of Gulshan.
That night, 20 innocent people lost their lives at the hands of the attackers. Among the victims were 17 foreign nationals—citizens of Italy, Japan, India, and the United States. Additionally, two police officers were killed when militants threw a bomb during the initial response to the crisis.
The hostage situation lasted through the night and ended the following morning with the army-led Operation Thunderbolt, which resulted in the deaths of five attackers and the rescue of 13 hostages.
That same night, the Middle East-based militant group Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack. However, the then government rejected IS’s claim, stating instead that the attack was carried out by the domestic militant group Neo-Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB).
The case related to this brutal massacre has passed through two stages of the judicial process. After the trial court’s ruling, the High Court has since issued its verdict. The convicted defendants have filed leave-to-appeal petitions against the High Court’s decision, which are now awaiting hearing.
Earlier, on 27 November 2019, the Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal in Dhaka delivered its verdict, sentencing seven members of Neo-JMB to death. Subsequently, the High Court, after reviewing the death reference, the appeals, and the jail appeals, commuted the death sentences. On 10 October 2023, it sentenced the seven accused to life imprisonment and imposed fines.
According to one of the defence lawyers, Md. Ariful Islam, six of the convicted individuals filed separate leave-to-appeal petitions last month (June) with the Appellate Division. Speaking to Prothom Alo on Saturday, he said that leave to appeal has been filed in the case of six accused, and the petitions will be presented in the Chamber Court of the Appellate Division.
The seven accused now serving life sentences are Rakibul Hasan alias Regan, Md. Jahangir Hossain alias Rajib Gandhi, Aslam Hossain alias Rash, Hadisur Rahman, Abdus Sabur Khan alias Sohel Mahfuz, Mamunur Rashid alias Ripon, and Shariful Islam Khaled. Among them, Aslam Hossain was shot dead by prison guards at Kashimpur High Security Prison in Gazipur on 6 June last year. The shooting occurred the day after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in a mass uprising, during which 209 inmates escaped after taking prison guards hostage. Six people were killed in the incident.
The full verdict of the High Court was published on the Supreme Court website on 17 June. The detailed judgment cites confessional statements, forensic evidence, ballistic and DNA reports, immigration records, and other circumstantial evidence to conclude that the terrorist attack on Holey Artisan was carried out by Neo-JMB, the extremist wing of the banned Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).
Five of the militants who directly took part in the attack were killed during the army operation. They were Rohan Ibne Imtiaz, Mir Sameh Mobasher, Nibras Islam, Shafiqul Islam alias Ujjwal, and Khairul Islam alias Payel. According to the High Court, the five attackers were found guilty under Section 6(1)(a)(i) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, as it was proven beyond reasonable doubt that they killed 22 people. If any of them had survived, they would have been eligible for the death penalty under Section 6(2)(i) of the same Act. The court also noted that the trial court had erred in awarding the death penalty to the seven other accused based solely on the “same intention” argument. Instead, the High Court commuted their sentences to life imprisonment under Section 6(2)(a) of the Act.
Meanwhile, the original Holey Artisan Bakery no longer exists at its former location. The owners decided not to reopen the restaurant after the attack, and the premises have since been converted into a residential building. Still, for many, the memories of that night remain hauntingly vivid. The horrors of 1 July 2016, are etched not only in the hearts of the victims’ families but in the memory of the entire nation.